Profile: Samantha Marre shares love of ag through FFA

by Olivia Hoelting • October 22, 2014 • Comments Off on Profile: Samantha Marre shares love of ag through FFA

Those who know Samantha Marre say high energy and a friendly smile are the first things you’ll notice when meeting this Mizzou freshman. Hailing from the small agricultural town of Elsberry, Missouri, Marre is sharing her love of agriculture by serving as the Missouri FFA Area 5 State Officer.

From the day Marre went to her high school orientation, she knew The National FFA Organization was something she wanted to be involved with.

“Within the first year, I fell in love,” Marre said. “I knew I wanted to take the opportunity and run with it to be the most involved as possible.”

Marre’s mother, Mary Jane, had a significant influence on Samantha’s FFA involvement. Mary Jane had experience as an FFA officer herself while in high school. Because of that experience with FFA, she encouraged her daughter to try for FFA contest teams, build her supervised agriculture experience, and interview for chapter officer positions.

“Sam has always been an outstanding kid,” Mary Jane said. “I knew if she were to get involved in FFA, she would grow so much. I’m so proud of all she has accomplished and how much she has grown.”

Samantha certainly has grown in FFA terms. Marre’s freshman year of high school she served as chapter historian. She then went on to serve as Elsberry FFA chapter president and eventually 1st vice president of the Area 5 FFA Association. Throughout her high school years in FFA, Marre showed sheep in both the Lincoln County and Missouri State Fair, competed in multiple public speaking contests, and participated as a member of the agronomy, nursery landscape, floriculture, and the horse evaluation contest teams.

“Sam is the model of ag education,” said Jason Vandivort, Marre’s high school FFA adviser. “She truly shows what you can get out of FFA. She wasn’t necessarily raised on a farm, but she has taken the skills and lessons from FFA to develop a strong love for agriculture as well as strong personal growth.”

As a college freshman, Marre has not slowed down in her FFA involvement. Serving as the Missouri FFA Area 5 State Officer comes with many responsibilities and duties. Those duties include: meetings, training at both the state and national level, helping at FFA camp, training at FFA area officer institute, FFA chapter visits, attending the National FFA Convention, running the State FFA Convention, attending Green-hand conferences, helping run the State FFA leadership adventure, giving motivational speeches at conferences, and connecting with FFA members and advisers from all over the state.

“I try to prioritize my time and make a schedule,” Marre said. “I spend free time trying to get caught up in schoolwork so I have extra time to devote to FFA, but I still have a lot of fun while working. My favorite memories so far have come from FFA Camp. I got to meet so many members and now I get to visit with them again throughout the year.”

In addition to FFA, Marre is involved in the Mizzou Agricultural Education Society and has decided to pursue a career as an agricultural education teacher to share with others the skills that FFA has taught her.

From a young age I can remember sitting with my dad at our family’s kitchen table looking over various agriculture magazines and newspapers. At the time, I was too young to understand most of the stories, but my dad would spend hours reading aloud to me. When I learned to read the stories myself, my dad helped me sound out some of the difficult terms myself. Little did I know, those small moments would be the first glance into my future career that I am now working towards. I am currently a junior studying science and agricultural journalism at the University of Missouri, Columbia. I have an emphasis in agricultural marketing. I am also working towards a double minor in agricultural economics and political science.